Sound Over Sight: Rajeev Raja’s Sonic Vision For Brands On World Music Day

On World Music Day, June 21, Loudest.in and exchange4media hosted a thought-provoking webinar that cast a spotlight on the rising influence of sound in a visual-saturated world. Opening the session with an evocative keynote was Rajeev Raja, founder of BrandMusiq and a pioneer in sonic branding in India. Speaking with the calm authority of both a seasoned advertiser and a professional musician, Raja took the audience on a journey into the emotional and strategic power of sound, asking a deceptively simple but transformative question: “If the whole world went blind, how would your brand be recognized?”

Raja, who also leads the Mumbai-based sonic branding agency BrandMusiq, framed his work as designing a brand’s “sonic identity”,just as a visual logo anchors a brand’s appearance, a “Mogo,” or musical logo, is meant to anchor its sound. It’s not about jingles, he clarified, but about crafting an enduring, emotional sonic system. "A Mogo is the shortest distance between a brand and a consumer’s heart," he said. "Music triggers associations, memories. It can do in three seconds what a paragraph of copy cannot."

To demonstrate this, Raja invited attendees to close their eyes and simply listen. As he played a melody live on his flute, drawing from Raag Hamsadhwani, a pentatonic scale with cross-cultural familiarity, he encouraged the audience to notice what images or feelings the music conjured. Responses flowed in rapidly: mountains, rivers, peace, Krishna, nostalgia, simplicity. The exercise, he explained, illustrated sound’s universal capacity to stir memory and meaning, even in the absence of visuals.

Raja’s own career uniquely bridges two worlds: a former creative director in advertising and a lifelong jazz fusion flautist, he brought both precision and soul to his keynote. “Once you understand the science of sound and the art of music,” he said, “you can create a brand identity that doesn’t just speak to people, it sings.”

That insight has powered BrandMusiq’s evolution from a fledgling idea into a global sonic branding leader. Initially met with skepticism, "For the first few years, there was no business, only meetings," he joked,BrandMusiq has since crafted sonic identities for more than 50 major Indian brands including HDFC Bank, Vistara, Amazon Pay, and Zomato. One of their biggest milestones came when global financial giant Mastercard approached them to design a universal sonic identity spanning 190 countries.

For Mastercard, Raja and his team developed a “Mogoscape”, a modular sonic framework that could scale across geographies, touchpoints, and moods. The now-iconic three-second Mogo, instantly recognizable and subtly magical, was complemented by a “mini Mogo” of under 1.5 seconds, designed to play each time a Mastercard transaction is completed on a POS machine. The system was then adapted to commercials, smart speakers, stadium anthems, and regional markets. The result: a sound system as enduring and consistent as a visual identity, yet flexible enough to meet the emotional range of global consumers.

Raja emphasized that sonic branding today is not just about creating a catchy tune, it's about managing an entire ecosystem of audio touchpoints, or what he calls “earpoints.” Just as a visual brand identity lives across packaging, ads, and digital assets, a sonic identity must travel across smart speakers, app notifications, retail stores, customer service prompts, and events.

He also gave attendees a sneak peek into BrandMusiq’s latest creation,the global sonic identity for 7UP. The project, still in rollout, explores what refreshment sounds like. The resulting Mogo, based on a fizzy, seven-note melody, combines splash sound effects with a motif designed to evoke brightness, optimism, and playfulness. “Refreshment isn’t just tasted,” said Raja. “It’s heard, felt, and remembered.”

In India, BrandMusiq’s sonic signatures are already embedded in everyday experiences. From Zomato’s "zoom zoom zoom" audio cue that signals your food delivery rider is en route, to HDFC Bank’s serene sonic motif playing in branches and on ATMs, sound is quietly becoming the new language of branding.

As smart speakers, audio-first platforms, and voice commerce continue to rise, Raja believes sonic branding will move from a marketing curiosity to a strategic necessity. “Visuals alone are no longer enough,” he said. “Sound is immersive. It’s emotional. And it’s time brands paid attention to how they sound, not just how they look.”

Raja’s keynote ended not with a pitch, but with a provocation: “In a world that’s getting louder, what does your brand sound like?” On a day dedicated to celebrating music’s universal power, his words offered a reminder that sound is not just entertainment, it’s identity. And increasingly, it's influence.